1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for processing a separation and rupture portion of a display label, a display label-attached product, and a display label attachment structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine, a developing unit is equipped with a toner container for supplying toner. In the image forming apparatus, the toner in the toner container is consumed by an image forming operation. When the toner in the toner container is exhausted, the toner container is exchanged with a new container filled with toner (a toner container). By this exchange of the toner containers, the image forming apparatus can continuously perform the image forming operation.
In the exchange of the toner containers, there is typically used a genuine toner container provided from a manufacturer of the image forming apparatus. However, an inferior counterfeit manufactured by someone other than the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus (a so-called pirated product) is also available on the market. Such a counterfeit is used occasionally.
Toner in the counterfeit manufactured by someone other than the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus is different in property from the toner in the genuine product, and is not intended for use in a main body of the image forming apparatus. Consequently, such toner causes a problem of degradation in image quality, and the like. In addition to the problem of degradation in image quality, further, the use of the inferior counterfeit results in a malfunction of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and may bring about a worst state in which the apparatus main body is rendered inoperable.
In order to deal with this problem, a display label is attached to the genuine product to allow a user to distinguish the genuine product from the counterfeit. In some instances, however, such a display label is separated from the used genuine toner container from which the toner is exhausted, and the counterfeit having the display label attached thereto is distributed in the market.
In order to prevent reuse of the display label which is separated from the genuine product and then is attached to the counterfeit, conventionally, there has been employed a method for forming a slit on a part of the display label to rupture the display label when being separated.
Known methods include, for example, a technique which adopts an anti-tampering label including a label base member on which a slit is formed partially in such a shape that the label base member is ruptured when the attached label is separated. In this method, a width of the slit is widened to prevent adhesive layers separated by the slit from being bonded by a secular change. This configuration enhances an effect of rupturing the label when being separated.
Another technique which adopts a display label with a back side having applied thereto an adhesive is also known. Herein, the display label includes a brittle portion in which a plurality of slits are formed at a position spaced inwardly apart from an outer peripheral edge of the display label. Moreover, the plurality of slits extend to intersect each other. In this method, when a separation force acts on the display label attached to an attachment target object, the brittle portion concentrically receives a rupture force according to an attachment force of the display label. Thus, this configuration enhances an effect of rupturing the display label when being separated.
However, the conventional display label having partially formed thereon the slit can be separated without being ruptured by change of a separation force, a separation direction, a separation sequence at a place where the display label is separated, and the like. Further, the display label having the slit can also be separated without being ruptured in such a manner that heat is applied to the display label to reduce the separation force. Alternatively, the display label having the slit can also be separated without being ruptured by use of a sharp cutter. The display label is separated using such a method for separating the display label without rupturing the display label, and can be reused in a state in which the display label is attached to a counterfeit.
As described above, the foregoing conventional methods employ the configuration that enhances the effect of rupturing the display label when being separated, but have a problem that the display label can be separated using the method for separating the display label without rupturing the display label. Consequently, it is impossible to prevent the reuse of the display label with reliability.